1830 (board game)

Infobox_Game
subject_name = 1830
image_link =
image_caption = 1830 as Published by Avalon Hill.
players = 3–6
ages = 12+
setup_time = 10 minutes
playing_time = 4–6 hours
complexity = Medium
strategy = Medium
random_chance=None
skills = Strategy
bggid = 421

"1830: Railroads & Robber Barons" is a railroad operations and share trading board game first published by Avalon Hill in 1986 based on an original design by Francis Tresham but now out of print. The popularity of this game spawned an industry creating similar "18xx" games.

Game Structure

"1830" is a strategy game where the only element of luck involved is in determining the initial play order. The game takes the basic mechanics from Francis Tresham’s "1829", with players seeking to make the most money by buying and selling stock in various rail transport companies located on a stylised eastern United States map. Players also operate any companies they are the President (majority shareholder) of in order to generate revenue and affect stock prices.

The game is designed to represent the beginning of railroad operations in the eastern United States beginning in the year 1830, with stock companies in the game representing historical railroad companies.

The goal of the game is to maximise personal wealth before the game ends, whether by nurturing a railroad company to increase its stock value, gutting it and running with the money, successful stock trading or arranging for another player to go bankrupt. Buying, trading and speculating on the stock market is often where "1830" is won or lost.

A game is finished when the bank runs out of money, or any player goes bankrupt with the player with the greatest personal wealth winning.

Private Companies

*Schuylkill Valley Navigation Co.
*Champlain & St. Lawrence Railroad
*Delaware & Hudson Railroad
*Mohawk & Hudson Railroad
*Camden & Amboy Railroad
*Baltimore & Ohio Railroad

tock Companies

*Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
*Boston & Maine Railroad
*Canadian Pacific Railroad
*Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad
*Erie Railroad
*New York Central Railroad
*New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad
*Pennsylvania Railroad

Computer Game

"1830" has been translated as a PC game by Simtex in 1993. This game has been praised for superior computer AI and, due to the lack of randomness in "1830" game play, the transparency of game play [ [http://pc.ign.com/articles/091/091520p1.html PC Retroview: 1830: Railroads & Robber Barons] ] .

References

External links

* [http://freespace.virgin.net/chris.lawson/18xx/1830/1830.htm "1830"] game information on Blackwater Station
*
* [http://www.westpark-gamers.de/en/index.html?/en/1830.html"1830 Articles"] A collection of articles on the game and game strategy.
* [http://www.henning-kantner.de/061211Guide%20to%201830.pdf"1830 Strategy"] An article on advanced game strategy.